. . . because much of the content relates both to Washington, D.C., and "outside the beltway" -- the heartland, specifically Iowa -- and because after going from Iowa to Washington via Texas and California I subsequently returned, From DC 2 Iowa.

Because that repository, organized by dates, is already far too large, it is now closed to the addition of further items (with rare exceptions) -- although it remains available to users as a valuable resource. (With rare exceptions, its contents will not be reproduced here.)

This blog post, "UI President Harreld - Nov. 2015," is where the continuation of coverage will be found for the month of November, starting with the anticipatory stories on November 1, followed by his first day on the job, November 2. To the extent events warrant, the present plan is to continue to collect items in month-by-month blog posts.

Eric Kelderman, "On His First Day as U. of Iowa President, Bruce Harreld Starts in the Hole,"The Chronicle of Higher Education (online), November 1, 2015 ("The regents have put him in an impossible hole. To succeed, Mr. Harreld has to win people over one at a time from the bottom of the pit and hope they’ll listen to him from 30 feet above."; "John Logsdon, an associate professor of biology at the University of Iowa, called on Mr. Harreld 'to say something credible and critical of the regents,' starting with an acknowledgment that the presidential search was flawed. 'Let’s admit mistakes were made instead of pretending they weren’t' . . ..")

Much to everyone's surprise, four former UI presidents returned from the dead to speak at a protest rally on the UI Pentacrest November 2, 2015. Fortunately, someone was able to obtain and provide me with a text of their remarks, posted here: "Former UI Presidents Speak Out, November 2, 2015"

Ali Snider and Zhao Li, "Protest Targets Regents' Hiring,"The Daily Iowan (online), November 3, 2015; hard copy: Ali Snider and Zhao Li, "Protest Targets Regents' Hiring," The Daily Iowan, November 3, 2015, p. 1 ("During the protest, faculty members came out and took over the steps of the Old Capitol dressed in robes and holding printed faces of long past presidents of the UI. They spoke from the perspective of the presidents and how each would have been displeased with the choice of Harreld to run the UI.") [Photo credit: Nicholas Johnson]
And for video see, "Daily Iowan TV: November 2, 2015," (minutes 1:01-3:36)

Jeff Charis-Carlson, “Hundreds Protest on Bruce Harreld’s First Day,”Iowa City Press-Citizen (online), November 2, 2015, 3:04 p.m.; hard copy: Jeff Charis-Carlson, "Presidential Protest; Demonstrators Challenge the Qualifications of Bruce Harreld, the New UI President," Iowa City Press-Citizen, November 3, 2015, p. A1 (“’Today we cannot be Iowa nice,’ said John Logsdon, a UI professor of biology, told the crowd of about 300 at the Old Capitol. ‘We have to stand up for what’s a value for us, which is public education, open and honest administration, and non-corrupt regents.’”; “’We also want to continue the pressure on the Board of Regents to resign or be removed because their entire process was dishonest,’ said Katharine Tachau, a UI professor of history and president of UI’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors. ‘The spending of public money for a search façade seems to be an entirely fraudulent misuse of money – and certainly they misused people’s time.’")

Vanessa Miller, "Harreld Faces Protests on First Day as University President; Tells UI Campus in Email He's Pleased, Humbled to Begin New Role,"The Gazette, November 2, 2015, 2:36 p.m.; hard copy: Vanessa Miller, "Higher Education: Harreld On the Clock; Protesters Greet UI President With a First Day Message: 'I Would Like to Ask You to Resign,'" The Gazette, November 3, 2015, p. A2 ("Harreld’s first-day schedule on campus included a morning discussion with deans, lunch with student veterans, individual meetings with faculty members, and an update on UI research. But he was greeted at 9 a.m. by his first handful of protesters outside the deans meeting. . . . The protesters — who were holding signs that said, 'resign' and 'no confidence' — responded by referencing inaccuracies on Harreld’s resume. They told a Gazette reporter they were planning to continue protesting Harreld until they push him out. . . . The noon protest of Harreld and the process that led to his hire started on the Pentacrest, where faculty posed as 10 dead UI presidents who have been 'rolling over in their graves' — and ended with a march to confront Harreld himself. The crowd walked to Jessup Hall and collected inside the building, outside his office, where protesters shouted, 'Resign, resign,' and, 'Hey, hey, ho, ho, Bruce Harreld has got to go.'")

Kristin Rogers, "University of Iowa President Bruce Harreld Responds to Criticism," KWWL.com, November 3, 2015 ("'They're gonna have a hard time figuring out how to move forward here so I'm more concerned about them. What are they gonna do, what's their option here? I am here, I am started, here we go, you know what's next? We've got to move on. . . . Give me a chance, get to know me, lets sit down and talk, I think that's been one of the more frustrating things is there's some people I've reached out to that haven't even been willing to even sit down, and that's to me it's unprofessional.'") [posted November 4, 2015]

Harreld and the IBM "turnaround." (1) Lou Gerstner, Jr., chair and CEO of IBM, 1993-2002, is the author of Who Says Elephants Can't Dance? Inside IBM's Historic Turnaround (2003, 2009). A search of the book with Google Books indicates it contains no mention of Bruce Harreld, even though HarperCollins describes the book as, "The first-hand story of an extraordinary turnaround, a unique case study in managing a crisis . . . [that] sums up Lou Gerstner's historic business achievement. Taking readers deep into the world of IBM's CEO, Gerstner recounts the high-level meetings and explains the pressure-filled, no-turning-back decisions that had to be made."

(2) Peter E. Greulich, "The Search for Leadership at the University of Iowa," LinkedIn/Pulse, October 22, 2015 (Greulich has authored two books about IBM and three essays on Thomas J. Watson Sr.; in this article he writes: "In his resume, IBM’s former Senior Vice President of Strategy claims that he helped 'chart the organization’s transformation from near bankruptcy.' Mr. Bruce Harreld joined IBM in late 1995. Three years prior to his arrival, Lou Gerstner returned IBM’s focus to the customer . . .. Two years before his arrival, the IBM team turned the prior year’s $8 billion loss into a $3 billion profit. [By 1995 IBMers] were well on their way to increasing revenue by 4% and improving sales productivity by 34% . . .. Mr. Harreld’s claim to have charted IBM’s transformation from 'near bankruptcy' would seem to be a bit of resume hyperbole.") [Posted November 4, 2015.]

(3) For Harreld's representations that he's led corporate turnarounds, and the Regents' reliance on the representation that he had experience turning around IBM, see Vanessa Miller, "New UI President Met With Four Regents Before Application Deadline; Rastetter: 'He Wanted to Gather as Many Facts as He Could,'"The Gazette (online), September 24, 2015, 5:11 p.m.
("He [Bruce Rastetter] and [Jean] Robillard have said Harreld brings a fresh perspective to the university at a time when higher education is changing and innovative thinking is imperative. They site Harreld’s past experience helping turn around IBM . . .."), and Kellie Woodhouse, "Unpopular Pick,"Inside Higher Ed (online), September 4, 2015 ("[H]e [Bruce Harreld] said . . . that he’s led 'transformational' turnarounds in the corporate sector . . .. It was, in part, Harreld's experience in organizational turnarounds that led the regents to offer him the job.")

Vanessa Miller, "Harreld to Push 'Faculty Vitality;' New UI President to Present Proposal to Regents,"The Gazette (online), November 4, 2015, 5:41 p.m.; hard copy: Vanessa Miller, "Higher Education: Harreld to Push 'Faculty Vitality;' $4.5 Million in UI Funding, If Approved, Would Go Toward Faculty Retention and Growth, According to the Proposal," The Gazette, November 5, 2015, p. A3 ("[A]dditional state resources would be used to retain faculty by 'increasing salaries of tenure-track faculty who are nationally competitive in their fields of study and whose salaries are well behind their peers.' It also would go toward 'focused growth' — increasing the number of faculty members in 'key areas of excellence on campus' . . ..")

On September 27 The Gazette printed my column, "Better Ways to Pick a UI President." For additional better ways, it turns out, we have only to look west to Lincoln, Nebraska: Editorial, "Chancellor Profile Eases Worry,"Lincoln Journal Star (online), October 21, 2015, 11:59 p.m. ("[T]he University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus . . . will be spared turmoil like that which has blown up in Iowa. Selection of Bruce Harreld, a former IBM executive who has no experience as a university administrator, as president of the University of Iowa resulted in a 'no confidence' vote by the Iowa Faculty Senate, and a vote of support of the Iowa faculty by the faculty senate at UNL. In contrast, the profile released earlier this month says that the ideal candidate for the UNL chancellor position would have 'experience in and familiarity with the complexity of a major public research university.' . . . The lack of support [by the UI's stakeholders] will pose problems for any initiative that Harreld might want to implement. . . . Other characteristics of the ideal candidate for the post of UNL chancellor include: An earned Ph.D. or other relevant terminal degree with credentials sufficient for appointment as a professor with tenure in an academic department at UNL, as well as teaching experience [and] Support for academic freedom and shared governance and a commitment to transparent decision-making, as well as a collaborative, consultative, and facilitative style.")

Corrie Goldman, "Novelist Marilynne Robinson Warns Stanford Audience Against Utilitarian Trends in Higher Education,"The Humanities at Stanford, Stanford Report, November 3, 2015 (Marilynne Robinson: "While the citizen can entertain aspirations for the society as a whole and take pride in its achievements, the taxpayer, as presently imagined, simply does not want to pay taxes, [leaving great universities] like beached vessels of unknown origin . . . ripe for looting insofar as what they hold would find a market. . . . [A] human community with a history and with a habit of aspirations toward democracy, requiring a capacity in its public for meaningful decisions about its life and direction, exists apart from these [economic] forces and is at odds with them.")

Mark Barrett of Ditchwalk has been digging in the record in an effort to figure out the "who shot John?" details of how Bruce Harreld was selected. For a lengthy exploration of what he's found -- the chronology, the facts, the alleged lies, Barrett's analysis, and the speculation it supports -- see his "Ongoing Harreld Hire Updates." Start with just the chronology at "Ongoing Harreld Hire Updates," November 1, 2015; then skip to "Comment: Ditchwalk Says," November 7, 2015, 6:52 p.m.

Seven Regents/Harreld items on The Gazette's editorial page this morning (Monday, November 9; couple more online links yet to come):

Questions: Are Regents' consultants worth the cost? How much have Regents' universities done on their own to pursue greater efficiencies over the last, say, 15 years? How would Regents respond if UI administrators, on their own, had laid out $5.8 million for consultants and produced so little? Vanessa Miller, "Board of Regents Efficiency Review to Save $7 Million This Year; 'TIER is a Success,'"The Gazette (online), November 9, 2015, 10:05 p.m.; hard copy: Vanessa Miller, "Higher Education: Universities On Track to Save $7 Million This Year; Savings Are less Than Consultant Projected in Efficiency Review," The Gazette, November 10, 2015, p. A1 (Regents' consultants were paid a total of $5.8 million (not counting the value of the loss of uncounted hours of university personnel time); consultants projected savings in range of $16-40 million; even the predicted $7 million saving "includes efficiencies already enacted [by Regents' universities]")

UI Issues/General: KayLynn Harris, "2 Sex Assaults Reported,"The Daily Iowan (online), November 9, 2015 ("In light of the recent reports, the UI has increased efforts to stop sexual assault on campus by participating in the It’s On Us campaign introduced by the Obama administration. Also, the UI has a six-point plan to combat sexual assaults. This plan calls on the state Board Regents, students, and faculty to all come together and improve sexual assault prevention methods. The UI’s Antiviolence Coalition also committed efforts to combat sexual violence on campus and support survivors. The group meets monthly to discuss issues concerning policies, procedures, training, education, and response to acts such as sexual misconduct.")

Fabio Rojas, "Beyond Yale and Mizzou,"Inside Higher Ed (online), November 12, 2015 "Observers and critics have been quick to label these incidents as more tales of overly sensitive students rubbing up against the demands of free speech. But that analysis misses the larger issue: colleges have two very different standards for student-administrator relations that are often in conflict.)

November 13-15, 2015

Check out "Ditchwalk," for near-daily ongoing, entertaining and insightful news/commentary essays and discussion of the range of Regents/Harreld issues.

Rekha Basu, "It Shouldn't Take a Football Walkout to Address Racism,"Iowa City Press-Citizen (online), November 13, 2015, 7:34 a.m.; hard copy: Rekha Basu, "Shouldn't Take Walkout to Address Racism," Iowa City Press-Citizen, November 13, 2015, p. A7 ("Why didn’t Wolfe announce a zero-tolerance policy for harassment, launch immediate preventive steps and pursue the attackers? Did his background in business rather than scholarship predispose him to think a university's value lies primarily in how much money it prepares students to earn rather than how informed, enlightened and engaged they are as members of society and the world?")

Natasha Singer, "The War on Campus Sexual Assault Goes Digital,"The New York Times (online), November 13, 2015; hard copy: Natasha Singer, "The War on Campus Sexual Assault Goes Digital," The New York Times, November 15, 2015, p. BU3 ("Callisto is created by survivors, for survivors. It is a third-party system built and maintained by the non-profit Sexual Health Innovations (SHI). The primary goal of Callisto is to provide college survivors with a more transparent and empowering reporting process. We want you the make the decision that is right for you, and ensure that you have the information and options you need.")

Harreld on "Iowa Press." Grading Bruce Harreld's progress? No need for anyone to rush to change their assessment of the Regents' process and preordained selection of UI President 21, or to be handing out final grades. Nor are (a) mere words any substitute for (b) efforts at implementation, let alone (c) ultimate actual results. But any fair comparison of Harreld's performance at his
"UI Public Forum, September 1, 2015," "University of Iowa President Bruce Harreld's Job Talk and Q&A," YouTube, and his half-hour interview on "Iowa Press," "University of Iowa President Bruce Harreld," Iowa Public Television, "Iowa Press," [posted by ITV November 12, 2015, broadcast November 13 and 15, 2015; link provides video of program, plus audio only, three clips from video, and transcript] would have to acknowledge that our boy has picked up a thing or two during this 10-week stretch. I'm not going to grade either performance, but many profs would take satisfaction from seeing the result of their efforts take the form of a student making that much progress in one semester.

February 5, 2015: A 21-member UI Presidential Search Panel is appointed by the Iowa Board of Regents.

Note: Don't leap to conclusions. I have not confirmed the accuracy of these assertions, do not know who posted them, and am unaware of what explanations might be offered by him for this sequence of events (other than the appearance of an advance knowledge of his pending appointment). It's relevant that he did (or does) own several homes.

UI Issues/General (with a UI mention): Scott Jaschik, "Protests Spread; At Ithaca, Demanding a President's Resignation; at Vanderbilt, Seeking a Professor's Ouster; Online, Shjaring What it Means to be #BlackOnCampus,"Inside Higher Ed (online), November 12, 2015 ("Among the campuses where students staged protests to back the Missouri students Wednesday were Smith College, where 200 students and professors left classes at noon, and the University of Iowa, where students didn't walk out of classes but rallied at the Old Capitol, wearing black to show their empathy with black students at Missouri." An Ithaca College protest group's statement declared: "The removal of an administrator brings influence back into the hands of the people. This push is not reactionary but strategic because now it brings the campus community directly into administrative affairs. It also opens the doors for the complete restructuring of top-down administration on college campuses. Is the president just a figurehead? Of course, but the point is that the campus body has removed that figurehead and has in turn opened the door for retrieving real sources of power.") [posted here November 16, 2015]

UI Issues/General: Reid Forgrave, "Missouri Controversy Creating Mixed Feelings,"Iowa City Press-Citizen (online), November 12, 2015, 2:59 p.m. ("[T]here's much more at play here than one student on a hunger strike, one football team refusing to play, one university president losing his job. Like Ferguson 15 months ago, and like Cleveland after Tamir Rice and Baltimore after Freddie Gray and Staten Island after Eric Garner and Roanoke after Vester Lee Flanagan and Charleston after Dylann Roof, my alma mater [University of Missouri] is currently the focus of a nationwide racial conflict. It is Mizzou now. It may be your alma mater, or your hometown, next.") [posted here November 16, 2015]

Jeff Charis-Carlson, "Coalition Plans Further Opposition Against Harreld, Regents,"Iowa City Press-Citizen, November 16, 2015, 4:34 p.m.; hard copy: Jeff Charis-Carlson, "UI Coalition Plans Further Opposition Against Harreld," Iowa City Press-Citizen, November 17, 2015, p. A6 ("A coalition of University of Iowa faculty, staff, students and community members has scheduled a community assembly to discuss plans for future opposition to the university’s new president and its governing board.")

There was little if any reporting regarding this meeting (two items, above). The Gazette hardcopy did provide three photos and captions (e.g., "Sam Cohen, associate professor of English at the University of Missouri . . . and another member of the University of Missouri community spoke about the 'corporatization' of the public universities"), but the photos do not seem to be available online. "Forum Shines Spotlight on Hiring of UI President," The Gazette, November 18, 2015, p. A7

More on UI Events Calendar: Jeff Charis-Carlson, "Robinson to Lecture on Crisis in Higher Education,"Iowa City Press-Citizen (online), November 16, 2015, 4:36 p.m.; hard copy: Jeff Charis-Carlson, "Robinson to Lecture on Crisis in Higher Education; Pulitzer Prize-Winning Novelist to Speak on 'The American Scholar Now,'" Iowa City Press-Citizen, November 17, 2015, p. A3 ("After warning an audience at Stanford University last month about current utilitarian trends in American higher education . . . Marilynne Robinson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and professor in the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, is scheduled to give a lecture on “The American Scholar Now” at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 9 in the Englert Theatre in downtown Iowa City.")

Richard J. Roberts, "Missouri Players Setting Example,"Iowa City Press-Citizen (online), November 16, 2015, 3:50 p.m.; hard copy: Richard J. Roberts, "Missouri Football Players Setting Example," Iowa City Press-Citizen, November 17, 2015, p. A7 ("So men [Iowa football players], how about it? Will you represent a university president who is a 'cheater' — whose own rigged recruitment process would have provoked an NCAA investigation, if only he had been a student-athlete? Or did you enroll to perform, at great personal risk and very low pay, for a university that honors fair play and the 'rule of law?'”

Jim Doorley, "Executives Hold the Cards in Appointments,"Iowa City Press-Citizen (online), November 16, 2015, 3:49 p.m.; hard copy: Jim Doorley, "Executives Hold the Cards in Appointments," Iowa City Press-Citizen, November 17, 2015, p. A7 ("153 years ago, the second president of the University of Iowa, Silas Totten, was extremely unpopular because he sympathized with the South during the Civil War. Totten wisely decided to resign and avoided a 19th-century public punishment; being tarred, feathered and riding a fence rail out of town. . . . Another option: Begrudgingly accept reality and then hold President Harreld closely accountable for his actions.")

November 19-21, 2015

When Bruce Harreld failed to show up earlier this week at a faculty-student event to which he had been invited I posted on Facebook some reasons why he should have been there (for his sake): "(1) I believe it was Woody Allen who said, '90% of success in life is just showing up.' So he would have gained that regardless of what happened. (2) If it was a civil, mutually respectful exchange he might have partially won some over, (3) If he was shouted down, he would have won the press coverage. (4) Since he has to do it sometime, and since the hostility only builds with time and his refusals to appear, the sooner he does it the better." Yesterday he did attend the Graduate Student Senate: Jeff Charis-Carlson, "Harreld Addresses Dozens at Graduate Student Senate,"Iowa City Press-Citizen (online), November 19, 2015, 2:07 p.m.; hard copy: Jeff Charis-Carlson, "Harreld Addresses Dozens at Graduate Student Senate," Iowa City Press-Citizen, November 19, 2015, p. A1 ("With several dozen members of the senate present — along with another dozen protesters lining the back of the room — the event was among the largest public gatherings Harreld has addressed since his public forum as a candidate for the job.")

KCRG-TV reported that Harreld met with the "Faculty Senate" on Tuesday, November 17, 2015: " Harreld meets with UI Faculty Senate," November 17, 2015, 3:50 p.m. ("New University of Iowa President Bruce Harreld is meeting with the school's Faculty Senate in a closed session Tuesday. The Faculty Senate has been critical of Harreld since the Board of Regents selected him in September. The Faculty Senate voted 'no confidence' in the Board shortly after he was picked.")

"Sabbaticals" (faculty members' paid leave for a semester or year of scholarly/research projects of their choosing) have never been popular with Iowans or their legislators who can't even get the time off with pay for maternity leave routinely granted in other countries. Surprisingly, it does not seem to have been a target of the recent nationwide attacks on higher education. Jeff Charis-Carlson, "Number of Proposed Sabbaticals Drops at Iowa Regent Schools,"Iowa City Press-Citizen (online), November 18, 2015, 2:39 p.m.; hard copy: Jeff Charis-Carlson, "Number of Proposed Sabbaticals Drops at Iowa Regent Schools," Iowa City Press-Citizen, November 19, 2015, p. A3

What is this about? Lack of organized effort to take advantage of opportunity to present grievances? Fear of retaliation? Pre-judgment that useless; game not worth the candle? Jeff Charis-Carlson, "Despite Protests, Few Show Up at Regent Hearings"Iowa City Press-Citizen (online), November 17, 2015, 10:28 p.m.; hard copy: Jeff Charis-Carlson, "Despite Protests, Few Show at Regent Hearings; If Recent History Holds, Not Many Will Attend Any of the Hour-Long Public Meetings Scheduled This Week," Iowa City Press-Citizen, November 18, 2015, p. A1 [posted here November 19, 2015]

And then, two days later: Jeff Charis-Carlson, "UI Breaks Record for Number of Video Comments to Regents,"Iowa City Press-Citizen (online), November 20, 2015, 6:14 p.m.; hard copy: Jeff Charis-Carlson, "UI Breaks Record for Number of Video Comments to Regents," Iowa City Press-Citizen, November 21, 2015, p. A8 ("Eight people — three faculty members, three students, one staff member, and one community member — gathered Friday in a small room in the University Capitol Centre to have their five-minute comments recorded on video and posted to the regents website. The previous record had been five commenters . . .. Before Friday's meeting, it had been nine months since anyone attended one of the hour-long hearings. . . . '(The timing of the hearing) — and that no regents are present, and that this is not actually a video conference, but recorded messages — suggests that yet again there is no effort on the part of the regents to interact with the faculty who run the day-to-day operations of this university,' said Stephen Voyce, a UI English professor. 'And that is not only unprofessional, it's flatly cowardly.' The comments will be posted to the regents website, but there is no requirement that members of the board watch the videos.") The videos recorded November 20, 2015 can be viewed HERE.

In my Gazette column, "Better Ways to Pick a New UI President," September 27, 2015, I wrote: "It’s necessary to begin by (1) involving all interested parties in an evolving consensus regarding, (2) an assessment of performance compared with output goals (e.g., what knowledge and skills do we want our graduates to have?), (3) identifying what may need changing, (4) what changes have already come about over the last 20 years, (5) researching what comparable institutions are doing in this country and abroad, (6) prioritizing what most needs doing, and (7) designing and testing some pilot projects. Then pick the president." Today's [Nov. 20] Press-Citizen contains a thoughtful exchange between three women with regard to what I there called "an assessment of performance compared with output goals." Terri Larson, "Friends Discuss Educational Priorities,"Iowa City Press-Citizen (online), November 19, 2015, 10:21 p.m.; hard copy: Terri Larson, "Trio of Friends Discuss Educational Priorities," Iowa City Press-Citizen, November 20, 2015, p. A7 It's not too early for us to begin preparing for this conversation that President Harreld is surely going to want to have.

Jeff Charis-Carlson, "Business Leaders Apologize to New UI President,"Iowa City Press-Citizen (online), November 20, 2015, 3:07 p.m.; hard copy: Jeff Charis-Carlson, "Business Leaders Apologize to New UI President; Official Says Vocal Minority is Protesting," Iowa City Press-Citizen, November 21, 2015, p. A8 ("More than 100 community and business leaders gathered Friday [Nov. 20] morning for the opportunity to offer support to the new president of the University of Iowa and to apologize for the negative reaction he has received on campus. . . . Iowa City Councilor Jim Throgmorton said that . . . he would have expressed the sentiment differently. 'I also would have acknowledged the tremendous role that faculty play at the university, . . . they are concerned about the process by which president Harreld was chosen.'”)

Shedding TIERs? "UI TIER Update: Nov. 20,"IowaNow (online), November 20, 2015, 02:20 p.m. ("As the University of Iowa moves forward with the Board of Regents’ TIER (Transparent Inclusive Efficiency Review) project, the UI TIER leadership team is committed to keeping the campus informed on the latest developments in connection with the initiative. The team will be sharing updates in Iowa Now each month. Information on the initiative can also be found on the UI TIER website. [This intro is followed by a report of] the latest developments on the UI’s academic and business cases.")

As additional "catch-up" postings, here is a sampling from some of the significant stories from The Daily Iowan that somehow fell between the cracks:

Cindy Garcia, "Faculty Discontent Revealed,"The Daily Iowan (online), October 20, 2015 ("Recently released emails show dread, panic, and anger expressed by faculty members before and after the announcement of Bruce Harreld as the new president last month. . . . While most emails to [UI Faculty Senate President Christina] Bohannan show disagreement on who would be most qualified to be the UI president . . . there was one point of broad consensus: Bruce Harreld was unqualified. . . . Among reasons cited for distrust of Harreld were his performance during his tense public forum, his lack of experience in higher education administration, and errors on his résumé that Asha Bhandary, an assistant professor of philosophy, called 'sloppy at best, dishonest at worst' in an email.")

Editorial, "Engage UI President Harreld in Conversation, Not Disparaging Rhetoric,"The Daily Iowan (online), November 2, 2015 ("Whether or not the regents resign is one matter, and the manner in which they selected a new president is a legitimate concern. . . . In order to make sure the UI is run to its fullest potential, it’s important to make sure faculty and students make our academic priorities clear to our incoming president, and give him a good-faith opportunity at leading this institution.")

Ali Snider and Zhao Li, "Protest Targets Regents' Hiring,"The Daily Iowan (online), November 3, 2015 ("Protesters gathered on the Pentacrest to voice their disapproval of the state Board of Regents’ decision to hire Bruce Harreld, [and] called on both the regents and Harreld to resign. . . . [It] began on the Pentacrest and moved to Jessup Hall — which houses the President’s Office — then through the IMU, chanting the entire way. . . . There were numerous signs in the crowd with phrases including 'Harreld: Uniquely Disqualified,' and 'Defend Our Public University.' Supporters at the event said they believed Harreld was handpicked and that the regents had engineered his hiring. During the protest, faculty members came out and took over the steps of the Old Capitol dressed in robes and holding printed faces of long past presidents of the UI. They spoke from the perspective of the presidents and how each would have been displeased with the choice of Harreld to run the UI.")

Tom Ackerman, "Faculty Consider Unionizing,"The Daily Iowan (online), November 6, 2015 ("The idea to form a collective-bargaining union has largely been influenced by the hiring of Harreld and the lack of shared governance that faculty claim has appeared in the process. 'I think the regents have made it clear they do not respect shared governance,' said Loren Glass, an English professor who helped organize the event. 'The faculty is not organized, so we really have no leverage in determining either fiscal or academic policy.' . . . 'I think it would be premature to call it a movement at this point, although a number of people are interested,' said Lois Cox, the vice president of UI’s faculty-association chapter.")

Ali Snider, "Anti-Harreld Move Continues,"The Daily Iowan (online), November 17, 2015 ("Iowans Defending Our Universities and the University of Iowa’s graduate student union, COGS, held a press conference in the University Capitol Center Monday to discuss their upcoming plans.")

Cindy Garcia, "Mizzou Protesters Advise Iowans,"The Daily Iowan (online), November 18, 2015 ("A forum held by Iowans Defending Our Universities hosted two guests from the University of Missouri who shared lessons and tips on how to enact change. The forum also delved into the circumstances surrounding Harreld and the state Board of Regents’ presidential-search process. Among a list of Harreld’s perceived shortcomings, the group pointed out low faculty, student, and community support, apparent inaccuracies on his résumé, and his inexperience with issues that affect higher education institutions, such as sexual assault.")

Tom Ackerman, "Harreld Meets with Graduate Students,"The Daily Iowan (online), November 19, 2015; hard copy: Tom Ackerman, "Harreld Meets with UI Graduate Students," The Daily Iowan, November 19, 2015, p. 1 ("The most recent campus appearance by University of Iowa President Bruce Harreld was met with both discussion and protest. The University of Iowa Graduate Student Senate held a forum with Harreld on Wednesday [Nov. 18] evening to ask questions concerning professional students and issues surrounding the UI.")

The following two stories provide but one illustration of a category of challenges that President Harreld might want to think about preparing for in advance. These two involve the balance between "free speech" and "cultural sensitivity." The UI had an example earlier this year with a KKK sculpture on the Pentacrest. Other such challenges might involve a campus shooting under circumstances that trigger strong NRA opposition to UI policy; law suits against the University for any of an almost unlimited possible array of reasons; allegations of a gang rape by athletes, fraternity members, or other students; some especially offensive consequence of an uptick in binge drinking offenses; or something like the mumps outbreak recently. Of course, the president will find default protocols in place for such events, and "strategic communications" counsel readily at hand to draft his statements. But true "leadership" requires more than that. It requires the president's personal, well considered, informed, and thought-through application of his own personal moral compass. It's not just what other university presidents have said and done, or what his advisors counsel. True "leadership" requires that there be "a there there," a personal set of beliefs, a consistent philosophy. The two stories below would be a good place to start this reflective process.

Here is another example of a circumstance in which a UI president will substantially benefit him or herself, as well as the entire UI community, by having an internal commitment to a course of action regardless of the consequences: If a "White Student Union" were to appear on the UI campus, would President Harreld: (a) say nothing, (b) have someone issue a statement without his name or input being included, (c) support the group's existence as an example of "free speech" and "diversity of opinion," or (d) condemn the group as the UC Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas Dirks did? What would Harreld think was the right thing to do, and why? Daniel Victor, "'White Student Union' Groups Set Off Concerns at Campuses,"The New York Times, November 25, 2015 ("Berkeley’s chancellor, Nicholas B. Dirks, said in a statement that the group was 'clearly intended to fuel conflict and provocation rather than to foster a serious and constructive dialogue among students about issues of race.'”) [posted here November 28, 2015]

Here's another: Would Harreld feel that (a) the UI should cut the number of administrators and their pay, if necessary, to fund more low income students, (b) that this is an issue for the federal or state government on which he does or does not express an opinion, or that (c) this is just one more instance in which the poor will have to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps in our capitalist economy? Scott Jaschik, "The Missing Low-Income Students,"Inside Higher Ed (online), November 25, 2015 ("[I]n the years since 2008, the proportion of low-income recent high school graduates who enroll in college has seen a significant drop . . .. In 2008, 55.9 percent of such high school graduates enrolled . . . [by] 2013, that figure dropped to 45.5 percent.")

What are the lessons for President Harreld in these next two stories? Arthur G. Jago, "How Three Bad Decisions Signaled Doom at Mizzou,"The Chronicle of Higher Education (online), November 19, 2015 ("With the advantage of perfect hindsight, three autocratic decisions foreshadowed the more serious disruptions that led to the unprecedented resignations of the institution’s top two administrators . . .. Mizzou administrators have seemingly shot themselves in the feet on a regular basis. All, or much of, this angst could have been avoided if input had been sought from students and faculty in the major decisions that would affect them.")

President Lyndon Johnson, observed in his 1965 State of the Union Message that, "A President's hardest task is not to do what is right, but to know what is right." It applies to university presidents as well -- in fact to all of us. Of course, doing what is right is no cake walk either. What if the right thing for a UI president to do involves challenging a sitting governor, impeding the political aspirations of a Regent, taking on the powerful NRA, or those who oppose admitting Syrian refugees? As then-Senator Joe Biden once told me, "There are some things worth losing an election for." Has Harreld thought through whether there are some things "worth losing a job for"?
But the examples listed above, and below, involve knowing what is the right thing to do. Often these involve dilemmas: when a lawyer's ethical obligations to a client conflict with a lawyer's role as "an officer of the court;" when a doctor is confronted with a surgical "solution" that poses a 50-50 chance of killing the patient. What is best for a student when the data indicate anyone with his or her high school grades and admission test scores has a one-in-a-hundred chance of making it to their second year: to take their tuition money and give them a chance to prove themselves, or deny them admission and advise them to do something else?
The answer to "the right thing to do" necessarily will be made by individuals, drawing upon their early childhood experience and lessons along the way, the nature of their own spirituality and religious affiliation and experience, perhaps a college philosophy course, or the example and teachings of a professor, mentor, or other role model. Presumably Bruce Harreld has some or all of the above. It is what he will need to draw upon when confronting the kinds of anticipated, and unanticipated, challenges confronting today's universities. In my opinion, his doing so preemptively, ahead of time, will not only make for his ability to provide better leadership for the university but a much more satisfying presidential experience for him as well. That's what the preceding 10 or so items are about.

Jim Throgmorton is a real Iowa City treasure as a City Council member, someone we ought to encourage to keep at it as long as he can stand this often-thankless job.

He holds a Ph.D. in urban and regional planning from UCLA. He taught the subject for 24 years as a professor at the University of Iowa. He contributes to and keeps up with the literature and is knowledgeable regarding cities' "best practices." He has had two tours of duty with the Iowa City Council (1993-95; 2011-present) and is otherwise embedded in our community and culture. In addition to Iowa City and Los Angeles, he is familiar with Chicago, Kansas City, Louisville, and many other cities in this country and Germany.

Unlike his opponents, and those who stole our yard sign, Jim believes all Iowa City residents deserve to be heard – including Iowa City’s 1%, developers, and business owners. But he also knows the best policies emerge when officials’ views are tested and challenged – including his own.

To let the 1% remove him from the council would no more serve their own selfish interests – let alone the rest of us – than when we let the Regents run David Skorton out of town. Visit www.throg4IC.org

Saturday, October 03, 2015

"Business Background: Enough for University President?" September 2, 2015-present (updated) [this is the blog post that contains the repository of documents, news stories, and opinion pieces regarding the Board of Regents' presidential selection process and early selection of Bruce Harreld]

You have to hand it to Governor Bradstad and Regent Rastetter. There's a consistent pattern when it comes to their choice of presidents -- whether for the University of Iowa or the United States.

First it was Harreld and now it's New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. James Hohmann, "Post Politics: Chris Christie, Picking Up Six Endorsements, Says He'll Play Hard in Iowa,"Washington Post (online), September 29, 2015 ("The group endorsing Christie is led by agribusiness millionaire Bruce Rastetter . . . a top donor and close ally to Republican Gov. Terry Branstad. . . . Branstad is neutral, but Christie now has managers of the Iowa governor's previous campaigns, a former chief of staff and his top two fundraisers . . .. Phil Valenziano, a New Jersey native who was Branstad’s political director in 2014, is Christie’s Iowa state director.")

By now you may well know more than you care to know about J. Bruce Harreld, and the process Branstad and Rastetter used to select and force him on a university community over its almost unanimous opposition. "Business Background: Enough for University President?" September 2-October 3, 2015.

Cook polls for "could see self support candidate" and "could NOT see self support candidate." Christie is not among the six Republican candidates with a net positive score. In fact, of the top 10 candidates, he and Trump are virtually tied (51% and 52%) at the bottom of the "NOT support" column. Ibid. (Paul (58%) seems ready to focus on keeping his Senate seat.)

Harreld had a couple of ethical lapses -- especially for a job in higher education administration. He lied about his current employment, and misrepresented that he was the sole author of pieces that were actually co-authored with others.

But it turns out that pales in comparison with the multiple scandals involving "the Christie administration, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and United Airlines" -- scandals that have already led to the firing of United's president. ("incentives" to serve gambling casinos in Atlantic City, including favored treatment at Newark's International Airport (where United could "save millions"); now included in "an ongoing federal investigation into possible abuse of power at the Port Authority;" U.S. attorneys for Manhattan and New Jersey have also subpoenaed records; the special United, money-losing route to Columbia, South Carolina, created for a single passenger, the Port Authority chair with a home there ("close friend and mentor to Christie" whose "law firm handled the South Jersey Transportation Authority's bond transactions," an Authority for which Christie appointed board members); the Port Authority's "highly paid police officers," costing United $25 million, whose union endorsed Christie; use of excessive airport fees for favorite Christie projects; Christie's appointment of United Airline's lobbyist, Jaime Fox, as commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Transportation (and chair, South Jersey Transportation Authority), who forgave a United debt to New Jersey). Ibid.

I guess when you consider how willing Rastetter and Branstad are in overlooking these little indiscretions by Governor Christie, you can see how trivial Harreld's misrepresentations might seem to them by comparison.

Nothing posted on this blog is intended as, constitutes, nor should be taken to be, "legal advice," nor as creating an attorney-client relationship.

Personal View

This blog is neither affiliated with the University of Iowa nor hosted by it. It is maintained by Nicholas Johnson in his individual capacity. Nothing posted here should be construed as anything other than the personal views of the author.